11 Aug 2017 - Video message by H.E. Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, and Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth, on International Youth Day.
In their powerful message they both reiterated United Nations commitment to "working harder with and for young people to recognize and uphold their rights, and promote their active global citizenship".
Transcript:
Hello, everyone!
I’m truly happy to address you on International Youth Day. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I am committed to the empowerment and inclusion of every young person around the world. In this spirit, I have appointed an impressive new Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake. She is the youngest member of my team and one of the most important. Today’s generation of young people is the largest in history. There are currently 1.8 billion of us on this planet which poses an amazing opportunity, but also some challenges. Today, 73 million young people are unemployed. Over 600 million young people live in fragile or conflict-affected settings. And more than 400 million do not have access to essential health services. This must change. We are committed to working harder with and for young people to recognize and uphold their rights, and promote their active global citizenship. [Jayathma Wickramanayake:] And that’s what I’m here to do. Join us in mobilizing young people! Together, we can create a peaceful world for generations to come. Thank you!